U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Cambridge Garden of Peace ($340,000)

An area within Riverside Press Park at River Street & Memorial Drive.

The Peace Garden memorial will include benches and stones or objects reflecting names of loved ones from Cambridge who lost their lives to violence. An area of Riverside Press Park will be transformed into a place of tranquility and reflection.

Details: 

As our city continues to experience murder and other violent deaths, we need to provide a space for grieving families to gather and remember their loved ones. This site will serve as a lasting memorial garden and will be a powerful visual tribute to Cambridge residents who are victims of homicide, suicide, or accidents. Family, friends, and neighbors can reflect, remember, and memorialize loved ones from Cambridge. Stones or objects engraved with the names of victims of violence will be placed in the garden each year.

Similar to the Boston Peace Garden, trees, landscaping, and benches will enhance the area, so that those left behind will have a beautiful, safe, tranquil place to reflect and remember their loss. We propose the Peace Garden be created within Riverside Press Park at River Street and Memorial Drive. While the landscape will need to be altered somewhat, the park already provides an appropriate setting that should not require major changes. There are two possible locations. The front area which faces Memorial Drive (see first photo below) is recommended. The area in the middle of the park where there is a centerpiece made of a raised circular stone area could provide a beautiful location for the garden (see 2nd photo).

Riverside Press Park

Riverside Press Park prior to the snow. Easily accessible by public buses on River Street and Western Ave.  A short walk from Central and Harvard Squares.

Circular area at Riverside Press Park, proposed area for peace garden

Riverside Press Park from the top floor of a high rise building across the street.  This picture depicts the circular area in the park, which could be used as part of the peace garden.

Contact Us

How can we help?

Please provide as much detail below as possible so City staff can respond to your inquiry:

As a governmental entity, the Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records made or received by the City. Any information received through use of this site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper.

Read our complete privacy statement


Service Requests

Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc., click here